Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
29-1122 Occupational Therapists
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays. Use therapeutic techniques, adapt the individual’s environment, teach skills, and modify specific tasks that present barriers to the individual. Excludes “Rehabilitation Counselors” (21-1015).
National estimates for Occupational Therapists
Industry profile for Occupational Therapists
Geographic profile for Occupational Therapists
National estimates for Occupational Therapists:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Occupational Therapists:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 127,830 |
1.3 % |
$ 43.02 |
$ 89,470 |
0.8 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Occupational Therapists:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 29.17 |
$ 36.40 |
$ 41.14 |
$ 48.31 |
$ 59.54 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 60,680 |
$ 75,710 |
$ 85,570 |
$ 100,490 |
$ 123,840 |
Industry profile for Occupational Therapists:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Occupational Therapists are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Occupational Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Occupational Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
34,380 |
3.53 |
$ 42.16 |
$ 87,690 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
29,200 |
0.52 |
$ 44.04 |
$ 91,600 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
15,630 |
0.19 |
$ 37.73 |
$ 78,480 |
| Home Health Care Services |
11,160 |
0.74 |
$ 49.34 |
$ 102,640 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
9,260 |
0.66 |
$ 46.31 |
$ 96,320 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Occupational Therapists:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
34,380 |
3.53 |
$ 42.16 |
$ 87,690 |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals |
8,230 |
3.05 |
$ 45.40 |
$ 94,420 |
| Home Health Care Services |
11,160 |
0.74 |
$ 49.34 |
$ 102,640 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
9,260 |
0.66 |
$ 46.31 |
$ 96,320 |
| Educational Support Services |
1,250 |
0.64 |
$ 39.19 |
$ 81,520 |
Top paying industries for Occupational Therapists:
Geographic profile for Occupational Therapists:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Occupational Therapists are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Occupational Therapists, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Occupational Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
11,460 |
0.69 |
0.76 |
$ 50.85 |
$ 105,760 |
| Texas |
8,500 |
0.70 |
0.77 |
$ 46.20 |
$ 96,100 |
| New York |
8,320 |
0.96 |
1.06 |
$ 44.80 |
$ 93,190 |
| Florida |
6,770 |
0.79 |
0.87 |
$ 41.65 |
$ 86,640 |
| Pennsylvania |
6,710 |
1.20 |
1.32 |
$ 42.57 |
$ 88,540 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Maine |
990 |
1.67 |
1.84 |
$ 35.76 |
$ 74,380 |
| New Hampshire |
920 |
1.45 |
1.60 |
$ 39.82 |
$ 82,820 |
| Connecticut |
2,280 |
1.45 |
1.60 |
$ 45.21 |
$ 94,040 |
| Massachusetts |
4,820 |
1.42 |
1.57 |
$ 42.33 |
$ 88,040 |
| Colorado |
3,710 |
1.41 |
1.56 |
$ 44.83 |
$ 93,250 |
Top paying states for Occupational Therapists:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nevada |
850 |
0.66 |
0.73 |
$ 52.41 |
$ 109,010 |
| California |
11,460 |
0.69 |
0.76 |
$ 50.85 |
$ 105,760 |
| New Jersey |
3,960 |
1.03 |
1.13 |
$ 48.14 |
$ 100,140 |
| Texas |
8,500 |
0.70 |
0.77 |
$ 46.20 |
$ 96,100 |
| New Mexico |
740 |
0.96 |
1.06 |
$ 45.70 |
$ 95,060 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Occupational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
7,820 |
0.90 |
0.99 |
$ 48.91 |
$ 101,730 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
5,040 |
1.19 |
1.31 |
$ 41.57 |
$ 86,470 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
4,550 |
0.80 |
0.88 |
$ 50.55 |
$ 105,150 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
3,750 |
1.41 |
1.56 |
$ 45.88 |
$ 95,440 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
3,520 |
1.36 |
1.50 |
$ 42.41 |
$ 88,200 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,400 |
0.67 |
0.74 |
$ 47.29 |
$ 98,360 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
2,140 |
1.46 |
1.61 |
$ 45.82 |
$ 95,300 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
2,100 |
0.81 |
0.89 |
$ 42.79 |
$ 89,000 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,080 |
0.71 |
0.78 |
$ 47.13 |
$ 98,020 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
2,020 |
1.11 |
1.22 |
$ 39.27 |
$ 81,680 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA |
100 |
2.52 |
2.78 |
$ 42.00 |
$ 87,350 |
| Rochester, MN |
280 |
2.44 |
2.69 |
$ 39.82 |
$ 82,820 |
| Johnstown, PA |
110 |
2.25 |
2.48 |
$ 37.22 |
$ 77,430 |
| Bay City, MI |
70 |
2.14 |
2.36 |
$ 36.50 |
$ 75,920 |
| New Bedford, MA |
130 |
2.07 |
2.28 |
$ 43.31 |
$ 90,090 |
| Grand Junction, CO |
120 |
1.95 |
2.15 |
$ 42.56 |
$ 88,530 |
| Waterbury, CT |
120 |
1.94 |
2.14 |
$ 43.93 |
$ 91,370 |
| Worcester, MA-CT |
520 |
1.92 |
2.11 |
$ 42.22 |
$ 87,820 |
| Bangor, ME |
120 |
1.89 |
2.08 |
$ 36.17 |
$ 75,230 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME |
90 |
1.84 |
2.03 |
$ 35.32 |
$ 73,470 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Occupational Therapists:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
550 |
0.52 |
0.57 |
$ 58.26 |
$ 121,190 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,530 |
0.68 |
0.75 |
$ 54.43 |
$ 113,210 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
90 |
0.45 |
0.50 |
$ 54.42 |
$ 113,190 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
80 |
0.85 |
0.94 |
$ 53.69 |
$ 111,680 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV |
670 |
0.72 |
0.80 |
$ 53.19 |
$ 110,640 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA |
640 |
0.65 |
0.72 |
$ 52.29 |
$ 108,770 |
| Salinas, CA |
90 |
0.56 |
0.61 |
$ 52.21 |
$ 108,590 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
110 |
0.57 |
0.63 |
$ 51.86 |
$ 107,870 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
120 |
0.46 |
0.51 |
$ 51.45 |
$ 107,020 |
| Bakersfield, CA |
100 |
0.33 |
0.36 |
$ 51.44 |
$ 107,000 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Occupational Therapists:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Occupational Therapists:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Occupational Therapists:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
